Summer Camp

May 26, 2020 COVID-19 Update: In an effort to protect public health and safety while still providing fun, outdoor learning opportunities for children this summer, we will be replacing our traditional Eco-Discovery Camp experience with an alternative format. Major changes include shortening camp to only a half day, reducing the enrollment cap and number of staff by half, limiting use of indoor teaching spaces to periods of severe weather only, and offering parents/guardians the option to remain with and supervise their child(ren). Additional safety protocols and guidelines for youth camps issued by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Development and seconded by the New Fairfield Health Department, such as daily temperature screenings, will also be followed. The weekly themes and learning topics will remain as originally planned and described below. At this time, we are opening registration only to the first four weeks of camp in order to assess the level of demand and to reserve the ability to adjust to potentially changing conditions as the camp season progresses.

Eco-Discovery Camp

Great Hollow’s weekly day camp offers children ages 5-12 unique and fun opportunities to forge lasting connections with the natural world on our 825-acre nature preserve in New Fairfield, CT. Our days are spent outdoors, exploring Great Hollow’s creeks, forests, meadows, and trails, learning about the critters that make this special place their home. Each weekly session includes science-based environmental education activities, live animal presentations, games, hikes, and daily time for self-directed nature play. Please contact our Camp Director, Maggie Cozens, at *protected email* or (203) 546-7789 to find out more.

If you’re 14-17 years old and interested in being a CIT, please click here.

Pricing & Details:

Camp hours this year have been shortened to 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM, with no lunch period. Registration for each weekly session is $150 for non-members and $135 for Family Level and higher members. Optional camp t-shirts are available to purchase for $12 at the bottom of the page or in person, at Great Hollow. Cancellations 7 or more days in advance of the start of a weekly session can be made without penalty. For all other cancellations, a 25% fee will be deducted from the refund.

Within a few days of registering, you will receive a confirmation email with additional information and forms to complete.

To be added to the waiting list for any sessions that are full, please email the Camp Director, Maggie Cozens, at *protected email*.

Did you know that some wasps mummify spiders to feed their young? Or that praying mantises sometimes battle bats? Let’s kick off the summer with a week-long exploration of the bizarre world of bugs! We’ll dissect wasp nests, search for rare insects, and explore the importance of pollinators like bees and butterflies in our very own pollinator garden.

Spend your week frolicking in the water of Great Hollow’s Quaker Brook! We’ll catch crayfish and other critters, go on stream walks, see beautiful waterfalls, and visit a real beaver lodge. We’ll be busy having so much fun that we won’t even realize we’re learning all about the water cycle, watersheds, and the importance of healthy stream ecosystems.

Topics covered: aquatic ecosystems; plant and animal adaptations; beavers as a keystone species and ecosystem engineer; water pollution; aquatic macroinvertebrates as biological indicators; natural history of crayfish; water cycle; watersheds; properties of mud; best management practices.

Blast from the Past: July 20-25

Become time travelers for the week! Hop in our time machine and learn about dinosaurs, volcanoes, and glaciers that once covered the North American landscape. Every day of the week will take us further back in time as we move through the geologic eras. We’ll dig for fossils, simulate volcanic eruptions, crack open geodes, and search for the many dinosaurs that once called Connecticut home (and their descendants!).

Do you have what it takes to make your way through the woods? This week, we’ll learn how to use a map-and-compass, how to make shelter, and other basic survival skills! At the end of the week, we’ll test out our skills with a collaborative survival challenge.

Calling all artists and scientists! Spend the week completing increasingly complex STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) challenges related to the natural world. We’ll tackle a wide range of hands-on interdisciplinary topics: from build-a-boat engineering projects and wildlife observation to natural ceramics and basket weaving. There’s something for everyone! And of course, between projects there will also be plenty of time to frolic in our brook and on our trails!

Get your hands dirty and get growin’ in our week about pollinators and gardening! Learn about the importance of natural pollinators like bees and butterflies, the value of locally sourced foods, and how to properly garden and harvest plants. We’ll work in Great Hollow’s pollinator garden, discuss the health benefits of different plants, and put together our own culinary creations throughout the week!

What do scientists do? During this week of camp, YOU’LL be the scientist and find out! We’ll design our own research projects and head out into a variety of different ecosystems to observe wildlife, collect data, and answer our very own research questions. Get ready to get dirty – field work is no walk in the park! We’ll investigate soil and mud, explore Great Hollow’s creeks, track wildlife through the woods, and more.

Let’s go green! Can you rise to the sustainability challenge? Over the course of this week, we’ll work together to discover the importance of healthy ecosystems, experiment with different types of renewable energy, and design a sustainability project that can be used in our community. Every day will consist of a different sustainability competition; like upcycling trash, surveying the critters in our wetlands, creating rainwater gauges and more. Join us in keeping our natural world clean for both animals, plants, and people!

If you want to hone your outdoor survival skills or see if you have what it takes to survive (and thrive) in the wild, then join us for this adventurous week at Great Hollow! We’ll spend our days practicing outdoor survival skills such as fire building, cordage making, shelter building, map and compass use, off-trail navigation, and more, culminating in a daylong survival scenario on Friday. Find out if you can rise to the challenge and Survive the Wild!